New Peugeot 405. Less than £8,000

[surveyor]

These were the best handling saloon cars of their time, and definitely had the best ads.

I find it strangely tempting...

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/peugeot-is-sellin...

[anonymous-user]

Not type approved to be registered in the UK, although it's excellent of car throttle to fluff there visits with articles like this.

[SidewaysSi]

Wouldn't surprise me if it is better to drive than any £30k saloon car from the usual suspects.

I loved the 405 - such a brilliant car.

[AC43]

SidewaysSi said:

Wouldn't surprise me if it is better to drive than any £30k saloon car from the usual suspects.

I loved the 405 - such a brilliant car.

Tremendous chassis back in the day. Beautifully damped long travel suspension and nicely weighted steering and brakes.

It was a works pool car. I genuinely preferred driving it to the 205GTI that was in the garage at the same time but which I found to be very twitchy.

Edited by AC43 on Tuesday 16th April 21:23

[Sheepshanks]

surveyor said:

These were the best handling saloon cars of their time,

Really - says who? Better than Sierra or 3 Series?? I had a 405GTX company car - main thing I remember is it was the first rep-mobile with a/c as standard!

[AC43]

Sheepshanks said:

Really - says who? Better than Sierra or 3 Series?? I had a 405GTX company car - main thing I remember is it was the first rep-mobile with a/c as standard!

In rep spec rhe Sierra was a slightly less st Cortina. And the 3 series was an underpowered Cortina with no kit and st damping.

The 405 was streets ahead chassis-wise.

[CrutyRammers]

great to drive, but my god were they unreliable. Well the one I had was. Piston rings, sunroof jammed, throttle stuck on, heater matrix burst and all the water came out, clutch cable broke, pipe stub fell off the radiator and all the water came out again, breather outlet broke off the rocker cover and all the oil came out, cambelt fell off (!), and finally the gearbox just siezed. There's probably more but I've mercifully forgotten.

[foggy]

I had the pleasure of driving one of the Iranian built Pug 405s on UK soil recently for a local TV program (think Iranian safety Stig) - the mighty Ikco Samand. This very silver car in fact before it bit the wall in the style like a ~25 year old car generally does https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QPOm_NiyfnQ

You’ll be pleased to know the lovely velour interiors live on and this particular example even spoke to you Kitt stylee if driving away with the handbrake on and also when selecting reverse IIRC.

[surveyor]

foggy said:

I had the pleasure of driving one of the Iranian built Pug 405s on UK soil recently for a local TV program (think Iranian safety Stig) - the mighty Ikco Samand. This very silver car in fact before it bit the wall in the style like a ~25 year old car generally does https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QPOm_NiyfnQ

You’ll be pleased to know the lovely velour interiors live on and this particular example even spoke to you Kitt stylee if driving away with the handbrake on and also when selecting reverse IIRC.

That have quelled my thirst...

[ClaphamGT3]

I had a 405 STDT Estate as a company car back in the day. Not much of a fanny magnet for a newly promoted 27 year-old associate who really wanted a Golf GTi but got a car recycled from a guy who’d just retired but it was a cracking car

[CubanPete]

Drove a few of these back from auction in the early 90s when I was a student. Was a nice car compared to my rover 213s (which wasn't that bad in the hierarchy back then!). Very luxurious and a nice drive.

They were ex reps cars that were being exported to Ireland, my mates Dad did a lot of business over there, and as part of his travelling arrangements would take them over, sell them to a chap he knew and fly back, for a nice bit of hassle free pocket money.

I would certainly consider a new one now for sub £8k!

[AC43]

ClaphamGT3 said:

I had a 405 STDT Estate as a company car back in the day. Not much of a fanny magnet for a newly promoted 27 year-old associate who really wanted a Golf GTi but got a car recycled from a guy who’d just retired but it was a cracking car

No. Deffo not a fanny magnet. The one I had access to was a navy blue saloon. How exciting.

BUT.........on a bumpy B road it was astonishingly capable.

Not that anyone believed me or cared.

[ChemicalChaos]

Personally I'm not quite sure about the 406 head and tail lights, although it modernises it slightly they just don't suit

[kiseca]

Sheepshanks said:

surveyor said:

These were the best handling saloon cars of their time,

Really - says who? Better than Sierra or 3 Series?? I had a 405GTX company car - main thing I remember is it was the first rep-mobile with a/c as standard!

I'm relying on 30 year old memories now but my recollection from the contemporary road tests was that the E30 was the third best handling small saloon car of its period, generally marked below the 405 and Alfa 75 for handling, though its other charms meant it tended to win group tests overall as its propensity to snap sideways was one of its few flaws.

It was generally marked down for a very loose rear end, lack of feedback in the steering, and post facelift, a very slow rack.

I don't remember the Sierra blowing road testers away in the handling department either.

Nowadays the E30 seems to be regarded as one of the best handling cars ever, but I don't remember it being that way in period. Even BMW themselves agreed the rear end needed sorting when they made so much publicity about their Z-axle introduced in the Z3 and then E36.

There were exceptions, obviously. The Sierra / Sapphire Cosworth and E30 M3 were regarded as excellent handling cars from day 1.

[williamp]

Sheepshanks said:

Really - says who? Better than Sierra or 3 Series?? I had a 405GTX company car - main thing I remember is it was the first rep-mobile with a/c as standard!

[Alan partrdge] not my words, lynn....the words of autocar magazne

https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/444...

[/alanpartidge]

[Taylor James]

I had a white 405 GRDT estate as a company car around 1995. It was one of the best cars of its type that I've owned. I don't look back on many cars with much affection but I enjoyed that one over a couple of years and about 40,000 miles. 18,000 business miles pa mattered back then if I recall correctly. Something to do with the tax.

[bungz]

Im guessing this wouldn't meet some standards to allow you to import one

[mrbarnett]

The front looks more like a 605 to me.

It's all well and good discussing the merits of the original's handling, but do we know that the suspension here is the same. It looks 'jacked up' to me, possibly to better deal with rutted roads.

[daveco]

AC43 said:

Sheepshanks said:

Really - says who? Better than Sierra or 3 Series?? I had a 405GTX company car - main thing I remember is it was the first rep-mobile with a/c as standard!

In rep spec rhe Sierra was a slightly less st Cortina. And the 3 series was an underpowered Cortina with no kit and st damping.

The 405 was streets ahead chassis-wise.

The E30 was released in '82 and by the time the 405 came out in early '88, BMW had replaced all the engines with fuel injected motors so they weren't down on power at that point. Peugeot ran with carburetors for a few years after this, parallel to the fuel injected motors in the more powerful engines.

You also had the bonus/additional cost of a 6 cylinder, rear wheel drive layout with a LSD if you wanted it. A base 320 was £11,000 and capable of the same performance as the Mi16, despite being heavier and down on power on paper.

[RobM77]

surveyor said:

These were the best handling saloon cars of their time, and definitely had the best ads.

I love a good 80s Peugeot, but I think BMW and Mercedes might have something to say about that claim